Jan 30, 2006

After the demise of NJ/NY hardcore band Mucky Pup (see prior post here) a few of the members formed Dog Eat Dog. Apparently their demo fell into the hands of Billy from Biohazard and he passed it on to Roadrunner records. Roadrunner then released their debut CD in 1993 cleverly (or not so cleverly) titled "Warrant" as the glam rock band of the same name, Warrant, had released their CD "Dog Eat Dog" one year prior. The band went on to release three more full lengths "All Boro Kings" 1994 (a name that some members later used as a band name after Dog Eat Dog), "Play Games" 1996 (featuring guests Ronnie James Dio & Wu Tang's Rza hahaha), and their last CD "Amped" in 1999. The band didn't really seem to catch on in the US as I can't recall anyone really caring much but evidently MTV Europe voted the band Breakthrough Artists of the Year in 1995 and they also toured quite a bit worldwide.

It wasn't until about 2 years ago at work we would pop on the "Warrant" ep and have a good time singing along to it, that it really caught me. I was guilty, I liked it. It's pretty much a cross between a poor man's Leeway and obviously Mucky Pup, without the quite overly obnoxious lyrics as MP. The later CDs aren't quite as good as they incorporated a Saxophone player and some more horns into their sound. You gotta remember Mighty Mighty Bosstones was huge at that time so maybe this influenced them in the whole "party rock", lollapalooza, alternative phase of the mid nineties. The sax kind of drives me nuts but there are still some decent songs on the other albums. When I decided to go back and get a few of their older CDs I searched online. I think I spent less than $8 total on half.com and ebay buying 3 of their cds including postage. I literally paid like $.37 for one of them plus $2.49 shipping. Here's their debut EP "Warrant" minus one track that was just a remix of another song that just didn't seem worth posting. It's from 1994 and was released on Roadrunner Records. Give this a chance because it's pretty infectious after a few listens. It's simple and fun and sometimes that's a good thing.

---------------------------------------Previous post update: Seth (singer of Initial Reaction) actually came across the blog and posted a response. Apparently he plays a mean stand up bass as is appearing on the upcoming Tom Waits CD. You can read his response here. Pretty cool!

Jan 26, 2006

Not 100% on the year of this show. Santa Sangre called me up to see if I could fill in on bass for them as Buske had broken his hand or wrist at a show. I wasn't too keen on trying to learn all of their songs in one night and playing a show the next day... that was until they told me the show was with Leeway. Next thing I knew I was on my way to Syracuse for a crash course in some Sangre.

Jan 12, 2006

Instead of sitting home on this rainy night and putting my time into something productive to the future of my record label, I have sat here for hours toying with a new program on my computer. What type of program you might ask? Well one that I can transfer audio from my cassette deck, 4 track, and my record player. Yup, it's official, I have somewhat figured this out. I know, I know, I'm always a few years behind everyone else... big fuckin' deal. Anyway, this was my first go at this so please let me know how the sound quality of this 7" is and any suggestions anyone has. You can now expect tons of 7"s and demos to get posted so let's all clap our hands in excitement.

Ok, down to the dirt. This 7" has always been one of my favorites for it's rawness and simplicity. I picked this up around 15 years ago now (probably in 1991) and I have seriously only come across one other person who owned this and had even heard of this band. I have never been able to obtain any information at all about them so I'm hoping that someone reading this can shed some light on this band.

The band is INITIAL REACTION and judging by their address in the insert they were from Alexandria, VA. Members included: Josh Woods - guitar, Seth Ford Young - vocals, Ponch Sanchez - drums, & Tom Gorton - bass. Whether or not these guys were in other bands or went on to form other bands, I have no idea. None of the names really stood out to me at the time. They thank bands like: Zero Tolerance, Gut Instinct, Outburst, Four Walls Falling, Release, Turning Point, Step Aside and others. So that can kind of give you the time frame from when they were around. The record label that released this was from Arlington, VA and was called Cornerstone Productions. Well enjoy these tracks and like I said, feel free to comment on the quality of these mp3s as I hope to learn more about transferring this stuff for all of us to enjoy.

Jan 11, 2006

All I can remember about this show is that Fury of V did a Genesis cover. I really wish I still had their demo that I got that day. Also, I had to work the night before and didnt help my band pack the van. Upon loading out our equipment I asked "hey guys, where's my bass?" After realizing what had happened all 4 other members scattered in different directions doing everything they could to not make eye contact. Yup, they forgot my bass. I had to borrow Outcome's bass and at the time I had no concept of drop tuning so the whole set I'm shaking my head trying to tune their bass. It was a nightmare. That week I went out and bought a rack tuner.

Jan 10, 2006

Here's another cover track that I found to be rather interesting. In 1999 Century Media Records released a tribute to the Bad Brains entitled "Never Give In". At the time of its release I thought it was a pretty killer compilation, but with a recent listen I realized not as many tracks were as good as I remembered. Regardless some of it has some great highlights and I really enjoy when a band can really put a spin on someone else's track. If you are at all familiar with the song "Sailin' On" you will find this at least interesting even if you think it sucks. I really enjoy it myself.

Last I knew Century Media had this comp on their site for only $3. Must not be a huge seller any more but with 16 tracks on it, one of the renditions might hit a note with you. Artists include: Cave In, Vision Of Disorder, Boy Sets Fire, Snapcase, Turmoil, Sepultura, 16, Will Haven, Shai Hulud, Adamantium, Skinlab, Ignite, Haste, Downset, Entombed, & Moby.

Jan 6, 2006

I would be a sucker if I didn't use this blog to shamelessly promote my own releases from time to time so here goes! This past week the new 11 song CD from IL hardcore band POUND FOR POUND has come out on my small DIY label Surprise Attack Records. They've been around since 1999 now and have come a long way. I have the feeling that fans of heavy hardcore like myself, are going to be feeling this stuff and 2006 is going to be a great year for this band. The CD flows nicely and the songs are very memorable and stick in your head after only a few listens. This record will be available from all fine distributors in early Feb but in the mean time you can get it from my website for only $5.00 (actually we sell all of our releases for only $5 so pick up another cd while you're at it!)

A few people have requested pictures of my "hardcore blanket" that I had referred to. Here's a little snapshot of it. These were just some random shirts that I had laying around from 1990-96 probably. I can't take credit for the actual construction of this as a friends mother who was a seamstress actually made it by first sewing the shirts onto a sheet. The sheet was then taken and sewn to a nice fleece blanket. It's actually super thick and warm. That blanket has been to almost every state and slept on many floors in numerous countries. Click on the picture to see a slightly larger version.

Latest News:

As of 9/6/16 all mp3 links should be updated and working again even on all of the archived posts from throughout the years. If you find a broken link please let us know in the comments section of the post and we will fix it ASAP.

If you were in any of the bands posted on here please get in touch and help shed some light on some of these great old pieces of hardcore / punk rock history. I would love to share your stories! Thanx for reading. - EMS